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I want to add one or two of Chopin's Mazurkas to my repertoire, but I find it difficult to decide which one(s) to choose. I have the sheet music, and have looked at quite a few of them, but haven't heard many of them performed. I'm open to any suggestion.

My favorites are 30/4 and 33/2. There's a night-and-day difference between them:

I completely understand why some people would question the value and purpose of knowing other people's favorites in a given category, and yet there's certainly precedent for it. It's a standard part of people's profiles in any online community to cite likes and dislikes generally and even favorite books, films, etc.

Consumer reviews are an integral part of sites such as Amazon, Epinions and the like. Netflix even goes to the extra length of specifying the predictability that a given reviewer's tastes match one's own, obviously taking for granted that the opinion of someone who shares one's own interests and predilections would be given greater weight.

Even if Piano World can often fall short of its potential for feeling like a "community," I really am interested in knowing the favorites and least-liked whatever of folks here whose opinions I value and whom I consider to have discerning judgment (and that most certainly includes you, BruceD! ).

Steven

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"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats."—Albert Schweitzer

There's a difference between being curious about what someone else likes and choosing a piece to play on that basis.

I think that's obvious, and therefore probably obvious to the OP as well.

There are around 60 mazurkas, after all. Gaining familiarity with all of them in order to make an thoroughly informed choice would be a long and arduous process; even listening to them once-through back-to-back makes them a blur.

I think it's logical, therefore, to glean what others have a preference for and perhaps start seriously auditioning them there. It's not like the OP asked anybody to choose a piece for him.

Steven

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"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats."—Albert Schweitzer

pianoloverus
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Registered: 05/29/01
Posts: 19841
Loc: New York City

Originally Posted By: sotto voce

Originally Posted By: pianoloverus

There's a difference between being curious about what someone else likes and choosing a piece to play on that basis.

I think that's obvious, and therefore probably obvious to the OP as well.

Perhaps, but PW gets countless requests just like this one and they usually are in effect a request for someone else to choose a piece for them. That was the point of Bruce's comment which he's made many times for the same reason. Someone doesn't have to listen to all 60 Mazurkas to choose one they like.

In defense of the original question - my somewhat truculent, unsympathetic response notwithstanding - he did say that he had read through several and was having difficulty deciding which one(s) to add to his repertoire. In further defense, he did not ask "which one should I play?"

I don't feel that his request was totally pointless, therefore, and perhaps his own decision will eventually be based on direction given him by others, direction that may help him understand on what others find musically interesting.

C major, Op 24 No 2 - First I ever studied, and it holds a special place in my musical world. Love the abrupt transition from C major to Ab7/Db.E minor, Op 41 No 2 - So beautiful.B minor, Op 33 No 4 - I find the alternating high and low registers very interesting.C# minor, Op 63 No 3 - Another one I love playing. Those interweaving staggered voices in the end are quite magical.

Daniel

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Currently working on:-Dane Rudhyar's Stars from Pentagrams No 3

I love hearing people's favorites, least favorites etc. I just enjoy the whole extended conversation and hope it goes on forever.

That said, might I suggest getting Eleanor Baillie's guide to Chopin. You can go through the Mazurka's, see which ones might be playable for you (if all of them congratulations :>), and the ones that are of interest you can check out on YouTube, as PL suggests.

Hope that helps. If nothing else, it's a damn enjoyable way to spend some time.

1) op. 17 #4 in a minor: Already mentioned a few times, and for good reason. Not very difficult, but poignant and complex. The four measures that open and close the piece are ambiguous, resigned, almost mystical. And the major middle section just feels good.

2) op. 59 #1 in a minor: I almost literally fell in love with this piece when I played the first six measures of the A major section (m. 37-42). Go ahead: play them right now!

3) op. 59 #2 in Ab major: I hear this more as a solemn andante than the allegretto as marked. Whatever it is, the main theme is surely one of Chopin's most noble statements. And I can't find words to do justice to the ending.

Oh, and my own two cents on the usefulness of the post, for whatever it's worth:

Surely "What are your favorites" is a decent stand-in for "I don't really know this literature yet; can you please give me some pointers".

I'm thinking of getting to know the nine rather daunting symphonies of Alfred Schnittke. If I had a friend who loved them all, and I asked him where I might start, I would be pretty dismayed if he responded "What does my opinion matter? It's you who are going to listen to them. Just listen to them all and form your own ideas"!!

As Jason pinted out, I don't know Chopin's Mazurkas well, and my I posed my question to get an idea about where to start. Op.17 no.4 seems to be very popular. I agree that it is a beautiful piece, but I'm afraid it takes a master pianist to make real justice to this Mazurka. Maybe Op.59 No.2...Anyhow I'll listen to some of the other ones before I make my desicion.

Ah how could I forget this one! Add it to my list. One of my favorite performances is from Argerich's "Legendary 1965 Recording". While I feel her tone is a bit harsh at some points (some of those forte base octaves) I think this is as good as it gets. The way she treats that moment where the main theme returns with the piano treble accompaniment is masterful, and always brings a smile to my face. And I love that she takes her time with the little flurry of notes in those 7 measures at the end. So wonderful!

Legendary indeed.

Daniel

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Currently working on:-Dane Rudhyar's Stars from Pentagrams No 3

The most impressive of the lot, andthe most technically difficult, isthe A min. op. post., aka: mazurka"no. 51," the one with the r.h.triplets and the middle section inoctaves. This is only 3 pgs. long,and doesn't look like anything special at first glance, but this is one of the most difficult pieces in the piano repetoire. You can't get away with just playing the notes on this one. Thiswill teach you rubato, because itwon't sound right played in time. If you want a big challenge,forget all the others. This is the one to take a stab at if youwant to really improve your playing.

It seems the numbering system is somewhat arbitrary after you leave the opus numbers, the a minor 'Emile Gaillard' is #53 in my edition (Henle) and also has been given the identifier 'KK IIb Nr 5' if that helps. It is certainly an impressive piece. I had never taken a look at it before.

There are so many mazurkas and they are so varied in style and mood that it seems very difficult to pick one or two that are my 'favorites'. But you could also look at all four of the Op 30, and all the Op 7 are great.

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'Always remember: the higher we fly the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly."" - Nietzsche